Centrifugal adhesive applicator

ABSTRACT

An adhesive applicator having a sleeve with a valve seat at one end and a tube within the sleeve. A poppet valve is mounted at one end of the tube. The poppet valve coacts with the valve seat for controlled flow of adhesive through the tube. The tube, sleeve and valve are rotated at a rapid rate in bearings. The opening of the poppet closure is varied by solenoid actuation. As the adhesive applicator rotates, adhesive is thrown in a radial direction from the valve.

[ 51 Jan. 25, 1972 United States Patent Cliehnhar et al.

l/l950 Harrison............................239/223X 3/1965 7/1969 [54] CENTRIFUGAL ADHESIVE APPLICATOR [72] Inventors:

McIntyre ........239/457 Podesta et al......................239/223 X Charles J. Chebuhar, Chicago; Russell C. Buhle, Clarendon Hills, both of lll. p i Examiner uoyd L King [73] Assignee: Continental Can Company Inc., New Assistant 'f Love York Attorney-Amerrcus Mitchell, Joseph E. Kerwm and William A. Dittmann [22] Filed: Oct. 17, 1969 ABSTRACT An adhesive applicator having a sleeve with a valve seat at one 21 Appl. No.:

end and a tube within the sleeve. A poppet valve is mounted at one end of the tube. The poppet valve coacts with the valve seat for controlled flow of adhesive through the tube. The tube, sleeve and valve are rotated at a rapid rate in bearings.

[51] Int. [58] FieldoiSearch...................

The opening of the poppet closure is varied by solenoid actua- 18/317 tion. As the adhesive applicator rotates, adhesive is thrown in a radial direction from the valve.

References Cited 8 Claims, 1 Drawing; Figure UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,375,884 Arvins et aL...........................239/223 INHIB- PATENTEU mes m2 INVENTORS CHARLES J. CHEBUHAR RUSSELL C. BUHLE V T T CENTRIFUGAL ADHESIVE APPLICATOR Our invention relates to an adhesive applicator, and more particularly, to an applicator for applying a band of adhesive within a tubular container.

In the prior art, other centrifugal applicators dispense adhesive constantly, and may have a sleeve mounted about a valving system. These dispensers are subject to a strict on/off operation and stoppage frequently happens due to adhesive solidifying in the exit passages.

Our invention has as its object the construction of an apparatus to dispense a measured amount of adhesive onto the inside of the bottom of a paper cup or other container.

A further object of our invention is to provide a nonblocking dispensing valve.

A final object of our invention is to provide a rotary valve for dispensing adhesive by centrifugal force.

In brief, our device is an adhesive applicator which has an exterior sleeve with a valve seat at one end of the sleeve. A poppet valve is mounted at the valve seat and a tube is fastened to the poppet valve and slides within the sleeve. Adhesive flows through the tube and out of the tube into a space between the valve seat and the poppet valve. Rotary motion is imparted to the poppet valve seat sleeve and the tube. When the poppet valve is opened slightly, the adhesive is thrown out from the slit between the poppet valve and the valve seat by centrifugal force and falls on the inside of a cup or other contamer.

Other objects and advantages of this invention will become apparent from consideration of the following detailed description thereof, and in conjunction with the appended drawings in which:

FIG. 1 shows a partially cutaway, overall view of our inventron.

Our apparatus is designed for dispensing adhesive into the inside of a cup so that a cup bottom may be fastened in place or some other seal may be made.

Our entire apparatus is mounted upon a slideable element which reciprocates back and forth into the container to be sprayed. The containers are mounted on a belt or in some way are presented in series to our apparatus.

As the apparatus slides into the container, the poppet valve at the end of the apparatus opens somewhat to allow adhesive to be sprayed out from the poppet valve and flung against the inner side of the container. The poppet valve then closes and the entire apparatus is withdrawn from the interior of the contamer.

The mechanism of our invention is shown clearly in FIG. 1. On the left side of the drawing is a poppet valve 1 which is shown in an open position in relation to the valve seat 2. The valve head 1 is connected to a tube 3 which forms the valve stem. Adhesive 4 or other liquid flows through the tube out through lateral ports 5 in the poppet valve into a chamber 6 located in the valve seat. The valve seat is mounted at the end of a sleeve 7. The sleeve 7 fits snugly about the tube, and the sleeve and tube are keyed together near their ends. The key 8 extends into the inner wall of the sleeve and into the outer wall of the tube, but does not extend through the walls of either the tube or sleeve. Bearings 9, 10 are located about the sleeve at two locations. The inner bearing races l1, 12 are mounted on the sleeve at spaced positions. The bearings are mounted on a base 13. The mounting base is adapted to slide to the right and left. The left-hand side of the sleeve has an inset 14 which holds the sleeve inside the bearing race, and the right-hand side of the sleeve is threaded, a nut 15 is run up on the sleeve and holds the sleeve and bearing races tight. At some point along the sleeve, a pulley 16 is mounted on the sleeve for rotating the sleeve. As shown, spacers l7 keep the pulley centered and free to rotate. The high-speed drive belt 18 is long to allow limited reciprocating movement of the apparatus without losing traction between the pulley and belt. A cupshaped element 19 is fastened to the slide and forms part of a support for the sleeve. A setscrew 20 in the cup-shaped member 21 cooperates with the sleeve 7 to allow the cupshaped element to be positioned to the right or left on the sleeve. A larger bell-shaped member :is mounted adjacent the cup-shaped element and fastened to the tube. The bell-shaped member 21 cooperates with the cup-shaped element 22 to give an adjustable gap. The bell-shaped member 22 is of magnetic material. The gap controls the extent of valve movement when the solenoid 23 is actuated to move the bell-shaped member 22 into and out of position. Solenoid 23 is mounted on base 13. The bell-shaped member moves forward to close the gap 24 when the solenoid 23 is actuated. When the solenoid is not energized to cause this movement, compression spring 25 pushes the bell-shaped member 22 to the right. The extent of its traverse to the right is limited by the closing of the poppet valve 1. The extent of the bell-shaped member's movement to the left is controlled by the adjustable gap 24, i.e., the position of the cup-shaped member 21; To the right of this structure is a nut 26 which is threaded onto the tube. Further to the right is a rotary and slideable slip joint 27 to allow the valve stem tube to rotate and slide while the tank 28 is held stationary. The nut 26 holds the joint 27 to the tube and also serves as an abutment to press the flange of the bell-shaped member 22 against the abutment 29 near the end of the stem. In this way, the adhesive is fed from the adhesive storage tank into the valve stem tube.

Since the adhesive must be under some pressure in order to be dispensed from from the poppet valve and valve seat, the adhesive is stored in a tank located above the structure.

In operation, then, adhesive flows from the tank through the rotary slip valve joint, down further through the tube, and out of the poppet valve port and into the cavity between the poppet valve and the valve seat. Because the valve seat is being rotated at a high rate of speed by a pulley and belt, the adhesive is thrown out from the valve seat slot and impinges against the inner wall of such container as it is mounted within it.

There are numerous advantages inherent in this device over the prior art. For example, adhesive will not dry in the passage and obstruct the passageway, the machine can be programmed at any cycle, and the valve opened by solenoid in synchronism with the reciprocation of the slidably mounted apparatus. The apparatus is compact and adapted for high speed operation.

The foregoing is a description of an illustrative embodiment of the invention, and it is applicants intention in the appended claims to cover all forms which fall within the scope of the invention.

We claim:

1. An adhesive applicator comprising:

poppet valve means having a conduit means through its stern and head;

valve seat means having a chamber therein;

means supporting said poppet valve means and said valve seat means for rotation about their coaxial longitudinal axes;

slip joint means connected to said stem for allowing said valve stem to rotate and to slide in and out relative to said supporting means; and

a source of adhesive connected to said slip joint means, whereby adhesive may flow from said source through said slip joint and said valve stem conduit means and out of the space between said poppet valve head and valve seat means.

2. An adhesive applicator as claimed in claim 1 in which said poppet valve means comprises:

a poppet valve head having a plurality of lateral conduits extending from inside said valve head to the lateral side of said head; and

a tubular valve stem having a conduit extending longitudinally through said stem and connecting to said lateral conduits.

3. An adhesive applicator as set forth in claim 2 in which said valve seat means comprises:

a valve seat sleeve fitting closely about said valve stem and having a first and a second end; and

means for connecting said first end to said valve seat means.

4. An adhesive applicator as set forth in claim 3 in which:

a key connects said valve seat sleeve and said valve stem for avoiding rotary motion relative to each other but allowing relative motion between said sleeve and stem along their long axis.

5. An adhesive applicator as set forth in claim 4 in which:

a bell-shaped member is attached to the end of said valve stem; and

a spring in constant compression resiliently urges said bellshaped member to cause said valve head to press toward said valve seat means.

6. An adhesive applicator as set forth in claim 5 in which:

a means is mounted adjacent to said bell-shaped member said slip joint means is mounted between said rotary poppet valve stem and said tank containing adhesive applicator.

* I t l 

1. An adhesive applicator comprising: poppet valve means having a conduit means through its stem and head; valve seat means having a chamber Therein; means supporting said poppet valve means and said valve seat means for rotation about their coaxial longitudinal axes; slip joint means connected to said stem for allowing said valve stem to rotate and to slide in and out relative to said supporting means; and a source of adhesive connected to said slip joint means, whereby adhesive may flow from said source through said slip joint and said valve stem conduit means and out of the space between said poppet valve head and valve seat means.
 2. An adhesive applicator as claimed in claim 1 in which said poppet valve means comprises: a poppet valve head having a plurality of lateral conduits extending from inside said valve head to the lateral side of said head; and a tubular valve stem having a conduit extending longitudinally through said stem and connecting to said lateral conduits.
 3. An adhesive applicator as set forth in claim 2 in which said valve seat means comprises: a valve seat sleeve fitting closely about said valve stem and having a first and a second end; and means for connecting said first end to said valve seat means.
 4. An adhesive applicator as set forth in claim 3 in which: a key connects said valve seat sleeve and said valve stem for avoiding rotary motion relative to each other but allowing relative motion between said sleeve and stem along their long axis.
 5. An adhesive applicator as set forth in claim 4 in which: a bell-shaped member is attached to the end of said valve stem; and a spring in constant compression resiliently urges said bell-shaped member to cause said valve head to press toward said valve seat means.
 6. An adhesive applicator as set forth in claim 5 in which: a means is mounted adjacent to said bell-shaped member for urging said bell-shaped member in a direction to cause said valve head to move away from said valve seat means and open said poppet valve.
 7. As adhesive applicator as set forth in claim 6 in which: a detent means is fastened to the second end of said elongate member and limits the movement of said bell-shaped member to open said valve.
 8. An adhesive applicator as claimed in claim 6 wherein: said slip joint means is mounted between said rotary poppet valve stem and said tank containing adhesive applicator. 